


Astoria's Pensieve

by CedroContento



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Hogwarts, Missing Moments, Pensieves (Harry Potter), Romance, Slytherin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:55:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27728423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CedroContento/pseuds/CedroContento
Summary: We don't know much about Astoria's years at Hogwarts, yet she always remained there in the shadows, she too witnessed the events and at some point even Draco must have noticed her, coming to fall in love with her. Peering into her Pensieve someone wants to retrace the Slytherin’s school years.
Relationships: Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy
Kudos: 9





	1. First Year

Astoria’s Pensieve

_He watched the substance, neither liquid nor gaseous, whirling wildly in the golden basin before diving, before getting lost.  
He didn't have much time, he would be back at any moment, but he desperately needed it._   
  


  
First year

  
I adjust the emerald and silver scarf on my black Hogwarts uniform. Mom took me to pick it up this same afternoon.  
Alone in my room I wanted to study the effect it has on my slender, immature body, like a perfect eleven-year-old girl. I sigh, this color is not that great on me.  
I try to remove from my full lips the pout that my reflection sends back to me, it makes me look even more like a child. I stare into my own blue eyes as I try not to think about how much I don't like the color of my hair, ash blonde, on which some sun-bleached locks still resist. I wish I had my sister's hair, that stunning platinum blonde. Mine, on the other hand, seem to get darker every year. Yet as a child I was blonde too, blonde and smooth as an angel.  
I undo the wraps of the scarf I made around my neck, if Daphne finds out that I have stolen it, even for just two minutes, she will haunt me until we are on the Hogwarts Express.  
That summer was a constant admonition “Do not dare to embarrass me, I have earned a certain position myself” - certainly her position is the one just behind Parkinson's - she remarks that she is the smart one. And I am still Astoria Greengrass, Daphne's little sister.  
I'm actually pretty flustered on my own. What if I didn't get sorted into Slytherin like Greengrass has been doing for generations?  
  
The Hogwarts Express, shining out of a white cloud of steam, whistles impatiently on the tracks when Mom, Dad, Daphne and I reach Platform 9 ¾.

For two years I watched my sister get on the express to the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, waiting impatiently for the day when my time would come.

Daphne hastily greets before flinging herself to her group of Slytherin friends.  
And there I see him, handsome as a God. Blaise Zabini, right next to Malfoy; he is so gorgeous.

My sister, on the other hand, has talked about Draco all summer long, but he is with her little friend Pansy, imagine if she would ever dare to show more clearly how much she likes him; but she will not hesitate to blow it from under her nose if she ever gets the chance I am sure of that.

I take a last look at my sister pushing her long hair back with an exaggerated gesture - and then would I be the one who should embarrass her? - and I look around for someone I know.  
There they are, the freshmen of the first year I belong to. They are gathering uncertainly in a small group. Among them I notice someone I know. Finally, in that small gathering I see the heads of my two best friends. Julie, the thick red curly hair and Nicole taller than the others. I join them ready to enjoy those last hours of carefree, trying to dispel the thought that in a few hours, the Sorting Hat will divide us.


	2. Second Year

“I can't believe he invited you!” Julie enthuses as she expertly braids my hair. Her talent for hairstyles comes in handy tonight. “But it's not fair, I also wanted to go to the Yule Ball, Viktor Krum will be there too!” she adds sulkily, as if she had never seen him. She spends her days stalking him all over the castle, she has even missed two lessons.  
“In fact, I still try to realize that Blaise invited me too. I'm starting to feel a little nauseous, I think I have to throw up ... “  
“Well get it through! These are opportunities you’re better not waste” my best friend scolds me, she seems a little bit my mother now.  
Julie sighs and I know what she’s thinking, this is where Nicole would step in, but she's been in Ravenclaw for over a year. At the beginning of the first year we tried to keep the friendship anyway, but the Slytherins are historically in rivalry with practically every other house as well ...  
“Sometimes I miss her,” she admits sadly.  
“Me too” I say torturing my hands. “Why am I sweating so much?” I ask.  
“Enough sadness, it's your evening! Go and conquer!” Julie encourages me with renewed enthusiasm.  
“Okay ...” I try to convince myself, arranging my old pink silk blend dress, that color gives me much more than the usual green.  
My mother spared no expense on my dress or my sister's. It will never be that a Greengrass, or even better a Pure-blood, disfigures at a public event, even if it is just a prom. Those little details make our superiority.  
  
But the nausea does not go away, on the contrary, when I reach Blaise in the common room (and he is really cool in that elegant suit!!!) I struggle not to run to the bathroom and vomit.  
It's just that this could be the perfect night. The perfect night for my first kiss. And if Blaise kissed me, well I might pass out.  
“You look great Astoria, you are very beautiful” Zabini compliments, making me blush like a pepper, I know because I feel my ears are on fire. Out of the corner of my eye I see my sister, beautiful as a goddess, smiling with approval, at least today I don't make her disfigure.  
If a kiss was what I wanted, Blaise's certainly not going to disappoint me as I spend half the evening trying to keep him at bay. Not only do I find his hands everywhere - and I'm sure he has at least one more pair hidden under his shirt - but he constantly lowers himself, treacherously searching for my lips. And it's not really that I don't want it, but the first kiss should be special, magical.  
That moment hasn't happened yet, I want it to be perfect, p-e-r-f-e-c-t.  
Except that the more Zabini insists, the more I find it unpleasant, the desire to kiss him touches an all-time low, and my crush on him well ... soon vanishes like the effect of a bad potion.  
I begin to feel exhausted and decidedly nervous when we reach my sister, Nott, Parkinson and Malfoy, lazily gathered around a table. They look just like a bunch of bored aristocrats.  
“I want to dance” Parkinson grumbles, making her rider roll his eyes, if Malfoy's gaze could kill ...  
Soon Pansy, to the sound of whims, convinces everyone to get back on track, but not Draco. He wouldn't even get up under the Imperius curse at that point, it's a matter of principle, I know because I know the logic of a Slytherin.  
“I'm keeping Draco company,” I venture when Zabini holds out his hand. “It's that my shoes hurt my feet” I use as an excuse. That's not true, my heels are super comfortable, I could run a marathon in them, but if I have to get Blaise's hands off my butt once more I swear I'll throw him an invoice, which I'm not capable of.  
“Let's go,” Draco decides at one point.  
We have been sitting at the table in silence for a few minutes watching the others go wild on the track. I shake my head when I notice that since Blaise has failed me, he passes unceremoniously to Daphne. Draco doesn't look at them instead.  
I intercept the trajectory of his gaze and see that he scrutinizes with all the hatred he is capable of Potter. It doesn't surprise me, he is unpleasant to me too, he has the strange obsession of wanting to be the center of attention. I still wonder how he got his name in the Goblet of Fire.  
Draco doesn't wait to know if I want to leave or not, he gets up and offers me his arm chivalrously. Of course, the appearance first of all, he will never be seen leaving the dance alone. But Draco aims high.  
“Let's go around the gardens, ok?” he asks me more than anything else to inform me. I would not agree so much since there are a lot of couples making out in the garden. If I go over there with Draco everyone will think that ...

But this is precisely his intention I realize, he uses me to spite Pansy, for revenge. I almost regret not joining the others.

I peek at Draco out of the corner of my eye as we take the long, slow turn to waste enough time to seem what it isn't.

I'm annoyed, but I don't feel uncomfortable next to him, we've known each other forever, we played together as children. Or rather, he and Daphne were playmates, I was the one who chased them everywhere, trying to keep up. I find he changed in recent years, yet he is always the same. One thing is certain he hasn't spoken to me for a lifetime.

“Wasn't it the evening you expected?” lazily investigates. I wonder if the disappointment is so clear on my face, even if it wasn't Draco has always been quite insightful.

“Yeah ...” I sigh. “It's just that Blaise was not who I thought, he's an idiot” I comment now completely disillusioned.

My confession gets at least a little laugh from Draco. “He's a boy, and you look pretty tonight. We are like that” he explains to me.

I nod absently. “And you have the evening you wanted?” I ask, I don't want to talk about Zabini again.

“I'm only here because I have to”.

Of course, he doesn't need these events to get even more than a kiss from Parkinson's, or from any other Slytherin.

A bush starts to tremble and a couple comes out trying to compose themselves quickly. I recognize a Hufflepuff and a Ravenclaw bigger than me.

“I'd say we can go back to the common room, I've had enough,” Draco comments.

That evening in my bed I struggle to sleep. I mentally retrace the evening, but it’s not Zabini who fills my thoughts.

He said I'm pretty.


	3. Third Year

Alone, in the common room in front of the lit fireplace, I hold my aching hand. When the tears began to fall, they never wanted to stop.

It is night now, everyone is asleep, except me. I was in detention with Umbridge, that horrible pink toad.

The hand burns to death, it hurt all the time, right from the first sentence. I tried to hold back the tears as I filled the parchment with that strange scarlet ink, but obviously I couldn't. I stayed there for two hours trying to write with bleary eyes, while my guilt also affected my skin.

“Astoria, what are you still doing here?” asks an astonished voice, making me jump. Draco, I haven't even heard him come back.

“What happen?” he asks harder when he sees what condition I am in.

“I was grounded,” I confess, trying to stifle a sob and wiping my cheeks with a sleeve.

I feel Draco sigh, easing the tension I felt in him.

“What have you done?” he asks, sorry for me, but still curious, as he begins to search his pockets for something.

“Well me and Higgs…” I start muttering uncomfortably.

“You know what, I just realized I don't want to know” Draco cuts short, taking my injured hand. My crime, however, does not remain secret for long, _Effusions are forbidden_ according to the deep engravings.

“What is that?” I ask sniffling, the pain finally gives me respite.

“Essence of Dittamus,” Draco says, finishing medicating me.

“Thank you,” I whisper, as I feel my skin catch fire where it is in contact with his.

He nods in response, lingers before leaving me.

We remain silent, seemingly mesmerized by the fire dancing in the fireplace, actually both of us lost in our thoughts.

After the Yule Ball Draco has returned to ignore my existence, this is the first time he talks to me, or looks at me. I really shouldn't care since I'm with Terence now, but that's not the case.

“And why were you still around?” I ask.

“I did one last round; I was looking for something for Umbridge”.

A grimace escapes me just to hear that name “Why are you doing this?”

It's something I keep asking myself, ever since they formed that stupid Inquisitorial Squad. Draco immediately understands what I mean.

“I guess it's the way it makes me feel, having power over others is something I like, you should know by now,” he says, giving me an impertinent look.

I snort. Ruining the lives of others, I think to myself, and I don't need to say it because Draco understands what I think only from my verse, in fact now he looks at me with a frown in annoyance.

“And still compete with Potter. You just want to find a way to make him suffer,” I insist on my line.

“Well at least I don't get caught when I'm with a girl,” he retorts acidly, even if it doesn't have anything to do with what I just said. “And even if they caught me, they wouldn't hurt me, because I'm on the team” he slams his stupid pin under my nose.

“But then with Higgs, come on. I don't like you being with him,” he adds.

“And why should you care who I'm with?” I ask, unable to hold back a nervous chuckle. But the smile dies on my lips when I see the way he looks at me, my heart skips a beat.

“In fact, I don't care” lies “Goodnight Astoria.”

And that's why I left Terence Higgs the next day.

Corner of the author  
Hello everyone, thank you for reading this far, in particular I saw that two of you left me a kudos, it makes me very happy to know that someone has read and appreciated thank you very much <3 fanwriters live off of this after all. Hoping you continue to follow the story, see you next time!


	4. Fourth Year

I settle better in the train seat.

“Good, but useless now, he will have noticed for a while that you are spying on him every two minutes,” Julie scolds me under her breath.

She's right. Draco, with his head carelessly resting on Pansy's legs, must by now be as good as realizing that I can't resist the temptation to turn to look at him. But I can't control myself.

Just when Daphne has found herself an older guy, and finally gives me some respite, I'm starting to be the one obsessed with Malfoy.

“He's so changed, don't you think he's changed?” I ask nagging to my best friend.

“And who isn't Astoria?” she sighs returning to her magazine, Modern Witch.

I get lost looking out the window.

Julie is right about that too; everything seems to be changing. The Wizarding World is going crazy and I can't quite grasp why.

It seems to be the fault of that Dark Lord, the one Potter cast out before I was born. I don't know what his return actually means for me.

Mum and dad have weird talk about Purebloods, Mudbloods, Muggles… what do I know. They do nothing but talk of superiority, of revenge, of occupying the rightful place. Yet what they say is in total collision with the way they behave. Mine are cautious, tense and - I haven't missed that either - they're afraid. So I'm afraid too, I don't even know of what.

That year, however, all in all, passes fairly normally, at least for Hogwarts, there have always been some small incidents, I am not surprised anymore. I don't care much about what's going on outside, I just need to know that mom and dad are fine. Everything normal, except Draco.

I have hardly seen him all year, and I certainly haven't been able to talk to him alone. He is acting weird. He is more shy than usual, more and more tired and wasted. The deep dark circles, which appeared under his gray eyes, get worse from week to week, I haven't seen him smile even by mistake. At first, I thought he was simply upset and nervous about being ousted from The Slug Club, but I soon realize there must be a lot more to it than that.

The year is almost over, summer is upon us, when I finally manage to talk to him.

That crazy Trelawney kept me until dinner to correct a stupid theme on the constellations. Since it is now time to eat, I decide to go directly to the Great Hall, Julie will be there by now.

It is when I pass in the corridor of the infirmary, however, that I see something that freezes me on the spot.

Draco, bloody, limp face leans on to Mr. Happy, - that's how Julie and I call Severus Snape - I assume they're headed to the infirmary.

With my heart in the throat I run in their direction, along the deserted corridor. My footsteps echo against the stone walls, drawing their attention.

“Draco what happened?” I ask without many pleasantries, helping him to support himself on the opposite side of the potion’s teacher. Soon I feel a lump forming in my throat, it's terrible to see him like that, it hurts.

“Malfoy you got a girlfriend, I had no idea” Mr. Happy draws, with his usual phlegm.

Snape and Draco scrutinize each other, their eyes communicate something that I don't understand.

“In fact, it's not like that, Astoria get out of the way!” Draco says after that silent exchange.

Even though he was rude I can't obey the request, also because I feel Draco's weight on my shoulders, I'm afraid that if I let him go, he would fall to the ground.

“Greengrass, you do not enter” orders Mr. Happy, once we have managed to reach the infirmary which is now only a few steps away.

I wait maybe fifteen minutes for Snape to reappear in the hall. Fifteen eternal minutes, in which my concern rises second by second.

“Are you still here?” the potion’s teacher asks me, amazed and annoyed to find me still there.

“Are you deaf perhaps? What’s not clear about what Malfoy said? “

“Can I see him?” I ask hopefully, ignoring his every word.

Mr. Happy snorts loudly “No more than ten minutes. And, Miss Greengrass, if I don't find you in the common room later, get ready to dust off the shelves in my pantry,” he warns me.

“Yes Professor” I barely have time to reply before he hurries off, fluttering his heavy black cloak behind him.

I knock softly to announce myself, before opening the heavy wooden door just enough.

Draco is there, sitting on a bed, his back against the white pillows. On his arms and face I see the marks of deep wounds, some bandaged, some not. At least he's no longer stained with blood except for that congealed on his clothes, soaked by the way.

“No Astoria, what are you doing here!?” he welcomes me annoyed, abandoning himself against the pillows, leaning against the metal headboard of the single bed in the infirmary.

“What have you done Draco? Who did it?” I ask unable to restrain myself, but I realize I already know the answer, it is always the same. “Potter isn't that so? You fought with him again!”

“None of your business Greengrass! What do you want huh? You should go and stay away from me!”

“I can't” I whisper, looking at my feet, trying not to be hurt by that refusal. How could I walk away and pretend nothing happened?

“Well you have to! I don't want you here. Leave me alone,” he says bitterly, clenching his jaw.

Finally, I raise my head and meet his eyes. I'm not leaving because I feel like I'm seeing that thing. Draco does like my parents, his lips say words, but his eyes claim otherwise.

“Greengrass for the last time, I don't know what you got into your head but there will never be anything between us. I don't like you ok? I don't care about you. And now out of the way!” he says seriously starting to heat up.

And that's when my conviction gives way, Draco's blow has hit the mark, he's always extremely good at hurting when he wants, not that I have made it particularly difficult for him.

I turn on my heels before making further fools of myself by bursting into tears in front of him.

With my head down, I take the exit, my hands clasped to my chest, where my heart has just broken.


	5. Fifth Year

“I really don't want to go to DADA” I grumble as I head very slowly to class with Julie, we are a little early.

“Don’t tell me. That Carrow gives me the creeps, it was almost better Mr. Happy I swear ... “

When we reach the corridor of the classroom, in the distance, we notice that a small crowd has gathered. Julie and I already figure out what's going on.

Tense, we look at each other silently wondering who might be the intended victim this time. The last time it was a young Gryffindor, it seems he was impertinent. His terrified cries still populate my nightmares some nights.

Julie and I are still looking at each other when the voice of the unfortunate comes to our ears. I see the expression of my best friend turn terrified with horror. We both know that voice well, it's Nicole's.

“Astoria no!”

Julie tries to hold me by the sleeve, but I'm quicker than her at sprinting forward. I barely hear his pleas to stop behind me.

I stop running only when I collide with the backs of the older students who have come to see what happens.

Pushing I begin to make my way. I am struggling with a guy who is particularly obstinate in preventing me from passing when he turns around impatiently. I stop trying to push him away instantly.

The one who prevents me from continuing is Draco.

I stare at him for a moment, dumbfounded, I didn't expect to see him, this year he comes and goes from school all the time and I didn't know he was back.

I barely have time to realize a fleeting flash of surprise in his eyes when he recognizes me, which has already disappeared to make room for the mask of inscrutability, which he has been wearing since that day last year in the infirmary.

Quick Draco grabs my wrist and sends me back to where I came from, defeating all my efforts to reach Nicole. In the general bustle no one notices us.

Malfoy puts his face close to mine, has a stern expression, starts to speak but I'll never know what he was going to tell me, because a blonde hurricane hits us.

“Let my sister go immediately,” Daphne hisses so softly I can hardly hear her.

Draco certainly heard her very well, as he lets me go, his eyes make two slits. I see him clench his jaw while, with a lift of his head, he points to an empty classroom.

Nicole's cries echo in my head, while reluctantly Daphne, who hugs my shoulders, obeys Malfoy's silent order.

But I don't want, I don't want to go away, I don't want to abandon one of my dearest friends. I can't find the voice to say it but I start shaking my head and resisting.

I don't see the knowing look that Draco and my sister exchange, but it must have been there, because Draco grabs me again and together they are too strong for me to free myself.

“Do you think we are playing?!” snarls Draco furiously, as he lowers the wand he used to charm the door so that no one can hear or enter. Daphne next to me still holds hers, remains on guard.

“Do you realize what nonsense you were going to do?!” Draco continues, turning to me, in the heat he still gets too close to me and my sister stands between us.

“I won't tell you again Malfoy” threatens him.

“If I were who you think, Greengrass, you would not be able to stand on your legs at this time”.

“Stop!” I exclaim, backing away from both of them.

I cannot accept the hatred I see in both eyes. We are not enemies, only a few years before we ate candy in the garden of our house. And also Nicole, Julie and me. The thought that runs back to my friend is the last straw, the weight in my chest explodes and I burst into sobbing without restraint, with the result that at least my sister and Draco lower their tones.

Surprisingly Daphne comes to hug me, tries to console me. My sister's outbursts of affection are rare, at that moment I feel grateful to have her close.

“You have to be more careful, you can't understand what they are capable of,” Draco sighs shaking his head.

“And you know that, isn't it? You're one of them, of course you know it,” Daphne says, even I realize that the too obvious contempt in her voice is dangerous.

Fortunately, Draco does not accept the provocation. “What we are somehow keeps us safe but listen carefully, you have to fly low!” he says more calmly than I expected.

That sentence makes us jump, it's enough for me Daphne to understand that Draco is just trying to defend us, it's not the first time we've heard those words. Our father gave us the exact same recommendation before we left the house to go to King's Cross earlier this year.

Julie and I are getting ready to go to sleep that night, but neither of us could, so we just go back to the common room. We find it crowded despite the late hour; it is not unusual this year. It is as if all of us were seeking comfort in each other, as if union were somehow enough to protect us from the madness that surrounds us.

We find a quiet corner and stay there, with two books open on our knees just to keep our hands busy.

I absentmindedly browse _Fantastic Beasts and where to find them_ , looking without actually seeing the figures, when I hear Draco saying goodbye to his friends. I lift my head from my reading just in time to watch him enter the secret passage of the common room, with a small suitcase in his hand, which I suspect he always keeps ready.

I don't know exactly what I intend to do, but I jump up and run to catch up with him, before he leaves again.

“Draco ...” I don't need to speak loudly, my voice echoes enough in the cold empty corridor, in fact he stops. I see from his shoulders that he takes a deep breath before turning to me.

Now that we are facing each other, however, I don't know what to say.

“I'm sorry for today ... what Daphne said ...” I begin.

“Maybe I deserved it” says Draco smiling sadly, in his gray eyes I already see that melancholy that will never leave his gaze again.

“Astoria, last year I ... I lied to you in the infirmary, I need you to know. It's not true that I don't care about you, nothing was true “

He lets his sad eyes slip over me, but then suddenly his expression stretches into a disarming smile as he shakes his head.

I know what amused him so much. Already horrified, I lower my head and it is as I suspected. As I ran my robe opened, and I am wearing that stupid pink pajama with nifflers. Definitely embarrassed, I hurry to cover up that infantile clothing.

“Be more careful Astoria, I need to know at least you are safe. You got to escape if things go wrong ok? Promise me,” he says, wrapping my face in his hands.

I nod and close my eyes, enjoying the wonderful sensation of his skin in contact with mine. With my lids down, I don't see Draco bending over me. I only feel his lips resting delicate and uncertain on mine. I don't open them even when I feel him squeezing me a little more, I'm afraid of breaking that wonderful spell.


	6. Sixth Year

This year going back to Hogwarts will be more difficult than ever, I already realize it as soon as I step on platform 9 ¾.

And it's not just the heavy atmosphere that plagues the air, or the train which has more than one car less, it's the absence.

The absence of laughter, of carefree. The absence of many students, too many; the absence of my sister, because for the first time I go through a school year without her.

It's the absence of Draco, of whom I have not known anything for weeks.

And I don't need the memorial, which made its appearance near the entrance to the Great Hall, or the minute of silence that asks us to observe Principal McGonagall, after the speech at the start of the year, to bring back memories.

I remember when they gathered us there, not so many weeks ago, in the middle of the night. I remember very well my sister holding me and telling me not to worry, because she promised Mom and Dad that she would keep me safe, and I remember when they evacuated us later. I remember very well being afraid.

This is what I think as I witness the sorting ceremony.

It almost makes me laugh at how worried I was about not being able to make it into the Slytherins in my first year. Does it really make a difference which house you're assigned to?

Not even the tension for the O.W.L.s, which I will have to recover, because the year before they did not end, can distract me from the melancholy that reigns supreme in the castle. But life has to go on sooner or later, as Professor Flitwick often tells us.

A small glimmer comes on towards the end of the year, when Daphne writes to me that in a week's time she would come to support her N.E.W.T.s, even those had been postponed.

I find myself waiting impatiently for that day, I even started a countdown on the calendar, hoping with all my heart that Draco will show up too.

But Draco doesn't come that day.

Julie and I hang around all day between senior and former students, to no avail. The only one I meet is Zabini who asks me if he can write to me every now and then.

Eventually Julie gets bored too and leaves me alone in my search. I can't get over it, I can't bear to feel my heart sinking in disappointment.

When I give up, with the mood under my shoes, I sit on the shore of the lake.

It is a beautiful day in early summer, I hope that at least the good weather and the anticipation of a finally carefree summer will help me recover some joy. I rest my chin on my knees and stay there, my mind wandering over the memories of the last two crazy years.

My dark thoughts are interrupted by an unexpected arrival.

A delicate silver fox starts spinning around me and, despite the sadness that not even the brightly shining sun has been able to soothe, its positive presence makes me smile. Finally, I decide to raise my head to look for who has evoked it.

“I've been looking for you all morning,” Draco says a few steps away from me.

I feel my heart do a double somersault. I can't, I just can't help myself. I feel so happy that in a moment I reach him and throw my arms around his neck.

I inhale the intoxicating scent of his skin and a sweet warmth envelops me when I feel that he is holding me too.

When the initial euphoria passes, embarrassed by the overreaction, I melt from the embrace.

"I didn't know you could evoke a Patronus" I manage to articulate.

“I've recently learned. You need a happy memory to evoke it, guess which one is mine”.

We don't need to tell each other, the fact that Draco kisses me at that moment is the most natural thing in the worl-

_"You shouldn't be here"_

_The voice behind him came unexpectedly, but it didn't bother him, not any more than he already was anyhow._

_"I asked you not to, Scorpius, this is not good for you" scolded his father._

_The boy didn't answer right away, he took a moment to look at his mother before Draco took him away._

_"I just wanted to see her one more time, just one ..." he justified himself._

_"But this is not real," Draco explained patiently, trying to mask how much it hurt that he could not in any way ease his son's pain, the excruciating pain that belonged to him too. It was not in his power to return his mother to him, however much he desired it._

_"I miss her, I want my mom," Scorpius protested in a faint voice, bowing his head to hide the tears that were starting to flow irrepressibly down his chubby cheeks._

_Draco felt his heart break a little longer, he could not reply to those words. How could he scold Scorpius for something he himself was tempted to do often? He missed Astoria too, terribly._

_"You know there's another memory that I like to see again sometimes," he said after a few minutes, wrapping his back to his son._

_Scorpius raised his head, his blue eyes shining, Astoria's eyes, in silent expectation._

I move a little to arrange the cushions that support my back. My hair is a tangle of knots, I have no make-up and I am sure I have a horrible face after the sleepless and painful night. Yet I smile radiantly at the little bundle in my arms.

“You are perfect, this little one is perfect”.

I can't resist the temptation to bring my forehead close to his once again, to breathe in his perfume, to feel his light breath on my skin.

"Yes, but you could have done his hair," Draco comments, with a smile that goes from ear to ear. That smile has not faded for hours, which amplifies my joy even more.

"Do not listen to this ugly of a daddy" I say mawkish to my child, slowly passing the back of the index under his little chin.

And that's where quite unexpectedly, at that contact, Scorpius gives me his first toothless smile.

“Oh God Draco look!! Have you seen?! He’s smiling, my love” I exclaim in seventh heaven, as tears flood my eyes.

"Astoria again?"

"Sorry it's the hormones!" I have been moved by anything for months.

Draco shakes his head; I make room for him on the bed and let myself be wrapped in a hug. My husband blows me a sweet kiss on the forehead and I bask in that wonderful feeling, the feeling of being loved. If I had to choose, I would say this is the best time of my life.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I apologize for any errors, the original text was written in Italian and my English is not so good, you can find the original one here https://efpfanfic.net/viewstory.php?sid=3940723&i=1.  
> Hoping you like the story I invite you to let me know. Bye!


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